Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious global health concern impacting millions of individuals. Despite being the third leading cause of mortality worldwide, COPD remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Quality measures are a vital component of value-based payment models, but there are few COPD measures in current U.S. quality reporting programs, despite the established burden of COPD.

Insulin persistence is associated with positive health and economic outcomes, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Mississippi, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), and Ohio Northern University, the results of which were published in Clinical Diabetes in December of 2023. The study highlights the promising applicability of a method to measure insulin persistence at the population level. This same method is the foundation for PQA’s Persistence to Basal Insulin (PST-INS) health plan performance measure.

The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) seeks interested pharmacy and payer partners to participate in proof-of-concept pilots to implement and test high priority immunization pharmacy measure concepts.

PQA has launched the PQA Quality Innovation and Research Initiative to Advance Medication Therapy Management Quality Measurement – a national initiative to advance medication therapy management (MTM) quality measurement and other strategies to evaluate MTM services.

PQA has appointed 16 individuals from member organizations to serve on a technical expert panel (TEP) to review and provide input on draft specifications for the pharmacy measure concept, Specialty Pharmacy Prescription Abandonment Rate [Pharmacy] (SP-AR-PH).

PQA has appointed 19 individuals from member organizations to serve on a technical expert panel (TEP) to review and provide input on specific approaches to ensuring PQA’s measures support equitable health care.

PQA uses a systematic, transparent, and consensus-based process to conceptualize, specify, test, and endorse quality measures. Following endorsement by PQA’s membership, PQA measures can be implemented into various quality programs, including those maintained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Many PQA measures are used in CMS Quality Programs to evaluate safe and appropriate medication use among beneficiaries.

PQA has appointed individuals from member organizations to serve on the 2023 PQA Measure Update Panel (MUP) and Quality Metrics Expert Panel (QMEP).

PQA follows a systematic, transparent, and consensus-based process in the development and maintenance of measures. This process ensures that PQA measures are relevant and continue to support improvement in health care.